U.S. Cyberwar Aims to Cripple ISIS Operations and Recruiting
U.S. Cyberwar Aims to Cripple ISIS Operations and Recruiting by David E. Sanger, New York Times
The United States has opened a new line of combat against the Islamic State, directing the military’s six-year-old Cyber Command for the first time to mount computer-network attacks that are now being used alongside more traditional weapons.
The effort reflects President Obama’s desire to bring many of the secret American cyberweapons that had been aimed elsewhere, notably at Iran, into the fight against the Islamic State — which has proved effective in using modern communications and encryption to recruit and carry out operations.
The National Security Agency, which specializes in electronic surveillance, has for years listened intensely to the militants of the Islamic State, and those reports are often part of the president’s daily intelligence briefing. But the N.S.A.’s military counterpart, Cyber Command, was focused largely on Russia, China, Iran and North Korea — where cyberattacks on the United States most frequently originate — and had run virtually no operations against what has become the most dangerous terrorist organization in the world.
A review of what should be done to confront the Islamic State is on Mr. Obama’s agenda on Monday, when he is scheduled to attend a conference in Hanover, Germany, with the leaders of Britain, France, Italy and Germany…
Obama to Announce Plans to Grow U.S. Special Operations Force in Syria
Obama to Announce Plans to Grow US Special Operations Force in Syria by Missy Ryan, Karen DeYoung and Greg Jaffe, Washington Post
President Obama will announce the addition of 250 Special Operations troops to the American advisory force in Syria, U.S. officials said Sunday, the Obama administration’s latest move seeking to intensify pressure on the Islamic State.
A senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss measures that have not yet been announced, said that Obama will make his decision public on Monday, during remarks at a technology fair in Germany.
“The president has authorized a series of steps to increase support for our partners in the region, including Iraqi security forces as well as local Syrian forces who are taking the fight to ISIL,” the official said. ISIL is another name for the Islamic State, the militant group that controls a wide swath of both countries...